Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anya lay in her bed, thinking about getting up the next day to go to school. She out to have been sleeping by now but for some reason she couldn't. It didn't help that Loids thoughts were echoing in her mind. She turned over to look at the clock and realised it was 12 o'clock. She'd no doubt be really tired the next morning and figured that she would regret not being able to sleep.

And just as things couldn't get worse, Yors thoughts started echoing in her mind too. Since there was nothing else to do, Anya decided to start concentrating on what loid was thinking. As it happened, he was having a flashback and Anya was sucked into it too.

But what lay in the memory was an experience like no other.

Destruction.

Sadness

Dread.

Helplessness.

About every single negative feeling lay in the once wonderful place reduced to rubble.

Now that Anya thought back to it, that was where everything started.

And so her story began.

Chapter Text

Anya thought about what she was going to do. Actually, she was thinking of how to simplify that in a way that made sense, to her at least. The war had really affected Loid, who had decided to dedicate his life to stopping it. She was born, raised, and experimented on for the sole purpose of the war and despised it. 

Those are two different... Ummm... positions.

Then it clicked.

After seeing what Loid had gone through, his motivation, and his life Anya's perspective on herself changed. Her perspective on her past had changed. Her perspective on the people she saw as evil changed. The scientists, Bond, spies, assassins, terrorists, everything changed. Because that was evil to other people, but sometimes the bad guys were doing bad things because they thought it was good. Or, at least the result would be good. 

The scientists thought that by sacrificing her happiness, and all other experiments' happiness, they could save the world (or thousands of people's lives) by doing what they were currently doing. Bond and Anya were their masterpieces, which they believed would help them complete the good deed.

Loid was a spy because he believed he could prevent what happened to him happen to other innocent people.

Yor was an assassin because she believed she could protect her brother (and others) from the people who were truly evil.

Some terrorists believed that becoming terrorists was the only way to send out a message to evil people to change their ways.

They weren't doing bad things because they were just simply the bad guys, but they had motivations, feelings, family and life. They had people and things to protect. And while some people were actually bad, others saw it as the only way to make wrong right. And now Anya understood how it was seen by Loid, she also wanted to do the same thing. 

One problem, and now Anya was exhausted with all the information.

.

..

...

How?

If she wanted to follow in Loids footsteps, how would she admit to him that she knew about W.I.S.E and Loid's secret identity? How would she become a spy? And more importantly, what about Operation Strix? That would just become a problem. Anya repositioned herself in the bed and hit her forehead on the pillow multiple times, hoping that if she gave her head a good rattling, she'd somehow get a clue. 

Now when Anya looked back on this, she wondered how different things would be if she didn't. It sounded stupid, but it somehow worked. Anya didn't know how. But she suddenly remembered one of her experimentations so well it was like she was there.

***********

Anya was strapped to a chair, fighting ferociously as scientists watched her every move intently. For it wasn't a chair, nor were the straps. It was a machine, a new development, and she was unlucky enough to be the first candidate. They had long since given up teaching her and were trying to find other means. 

Like intersecting intel straight into her brain.

If it failed, she'd obviously die, which was why she was fighting so hard. She also never wanted any of it. All the pills, pain, injections, pain, drugs, pain, experiments, and pain.

A scientist stepped up to her and told her it wouldn't hurt, which only guaranteed it was. A lot. Another person was at what she suspected were the controls and flipped a switch seconds after she was injected with something. The pain lasted days.

Little did she know it was successful.

**************

Anya eventually decided that being a spy would take too long and looked at her other option. The better one.

Becoming an assassin. 

Yor was an assassin and if what she knew was correct, she had become one at a very young age. Anya was young, too young, but decided that it was worth a try. Yor had trained her a couple of times and would be able to help her in the art of lies and secrecy...

As well as assassination and murder.

Anya figured it would be like becoming a double agent. Helping Loid with spy work and assassinating in her free time. Loid and Yor had pretty similar intentions behind their dirty work. 

Just one problem. Anya was stupid for walking herself into the same dead-end.

How?

Great.

Anya waited for Loid to finally go to sleep, listening for when his thoughts would eventually fade away. While she was waiting and listening, one thing shocked her.

It's lucky W.I.S.E allowed me to stay in this family for a disguise and Operation Strix. 

It shocked and excited her. She was going to stay with the family! This distracted her until 30 minutes after Loid had fallen asleep. When she looked at the time again, it was 30 minutes past 1 in the morning. She was relieved when she still heard Yor's thoughts in her head. 

Slowly, she got out of bed and made her way toward Yor's bedroom door, her heart beating rapidly in her chest as she lifted her hand to knock on the door.

There was no going back.

Yor opened the door and slowly peeked out, shocked to see Anya there.

"Anya! Why are you up so late?! You have school tomorrow! Did you have a nightmare?" She assumed that she was correct as she dragged her inside and sat her on the edge of the bed. "Here! You can tell me all about it."

Anya certainly didn't expect this but didn't let it stop her. 

Slowly, she confessed everything. The experiments, her past, her power, and everything else. Yor was clearly surprised but still listened to every word, not hesitating to hug her and rub her back. Anya told her everything except Loid. Instead of her making her mind up about his past, Anya told her it was because of the terrorists that kidnapped and threatened to kill her.

Yor thought out loud for a while, figuring that Anya was going to hear her thoughts either way.

Eventually, they decided on what was going to happen. 

Chapter Text

Anya was even more restless than usual the next day. The honest reason was that Yor was going to the restaurant with her after school to tell her whether she was accepted or not. But nobody needed to know that.

When Anya thought grudgingly, will that minute hand move, I have a meeting you know!

She was so absorbed with the clock that she didn't realize Damian was watching her again or thinking about her. The teacher droned on about Henry VIII and barely noticed anything other than when Anya slept through class or chatter. Becky, however, was almost as restless as her. She nudged her for the thousandth time that day, asking if she could go to her house and meet her dad. Anya then explained to her for the thousandth time that says that, no, she was going out with her mother and nobody would be left home to talk to her. This only encouraged Becky. 

At last, the final bell rang, and Anya stood up a full 3 seconds before anyone else realized that it was hometime. She stuffed her books in her bag and practically dragged Becky out of the classroom. 

They barely reached the door before Damian, Emile, and Ewen were in front of them.

Becky sighed overdramatically and muttered loud enough for all of them to hear, "Not this again."

Damian did not take this lightly.

"Oi! Watch who you're talking to you little-"

"Hey! Don't talk to Becky like that, meanie!" Anya quickly jumped to her best friend's defense.

"Or what, stubby legs?"

"Or I- I won't talk to you again!"

"And why should I care, dummy?"

Becky also didn't take this lightly, "You say one more word Damian, and I'll-"  

"Ahh yes, you won't talk to me either. Anyway, why do you even care about stubby legs here, it's not like anyone likes her, I'm sure her parents don't even like her, she's so stupid."

"Damian I swear to go-!"

"Her parents probably want to put her back in some orphanage, or the trashcan- she's so useless- what the!-"

Before he even knew what he was saying, Anya had tears rolling down her cheeks. Becky looked round at her and gasped. The entire class saw the whole thing and gasped or gaped. For a moment, nobody knew what to do, and Anya ran out at that moment, in silent tears, Damian getting pushed out of the way of the door. Becky rounded on Damian as soon as Anya took one step out the door.

"Damian, what the hell is wrong with you?! You think you're so high over her just because you're a bit richer than her and, I hate to break it to you, but that just makes you trash, no, worse than trash! Unfortunately, you're so dim-witted and pea-brained that you haven't even noticed that Anya was the only one who saw you for who you are, not your father, let alone liked a dumbass like you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a friend whose a million times the person of you to console!"

Damian expected retaliation and a fight as she went past and knew he deserved it, but all he got was a hard shoulder push that almost made him lose his balance. Becky ran down the hallway as soon as she went out the door, thinking of where to find Anya.

                                                                                                                               ******

"Anya?"

Becky had decided to first go to the bathroom to look for her and checked cubicles to see if they were locked while another girl watched her through the mirror in front of the sink. The last one was occupied and a few stifled sobs could be heard from there. Becky wasted no time and proceeded to hammer on the door with both fists.

"ANYA!!!!! I swear to god, don't you DARE believe a SINGLE word that bastard says, because you are a billion, no, trillion times better than him! Now stop crying in there and let me in there, dammit!"

There were a couple of seconds of silence as Becky breathed in and out heavily and the girl washing her hands gave her a weird confused look. She must have decided none of this was her business as she shrugged and walked out. There were a couple of gulps and sniffs, and then, finally, Anya opened the door. Becky crashed into her immediately and crushed all the air out of her as she hugged Anya with every molecule of her body and they almost lost balance. Anya smiled before hugging her back. After about half a minute Anya came to a realization.

"Becky?"

"Yeah??"

"I can't breath." 

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry!" Becky let go, "Promise me you won't listen to Damian, he's just too full of himself. And don't have a crush on him anymore, he doesn't deserve someone as nice as you."

"I never had a crush on him..."

"Good and don't ever do. Now, you said you're going to the restaurant with your mom. Go ahead and have a good time, just wait here while I go and grab your stuff, you don't need to face Damian after what he said."

"Okay."

Anya was actually more surprised at the fact that Becky heard her say she was going out with her mother after all the persistence and determination from her for the entire day. Nevertheless, she listened to her friend and waited for her to return from the short trip to the classroom.

                                                                                                                            *****

"Why don't we sit in a quiet corner over here, so nobody can overhear what we're saying."

"Okay."

Anya stared up at her mother. She looked so... formal in front of this guy. He was probably somebody important in her job. That is to say, her assassination job. The three of them sat down, the man and Yor ordering coffees and getting Anya a hot chocolate, and cakes for all three of them. Once their stuff arrived, the man turned to Anya and looked all business-like.

"You've been accepted. However, you must prove your powers to me before we can carry on."

Chapter Text

Anya stood in gym clothes in front of the mirror. She wore a short and tight hood and shorts with some trainers she found for school. Anya turned to Yor.

"Where are we going?!" she demanded.

Yor smiled at her determination and confidence, "Some people would like to see you for your uniform. It's actually the director's wife so you'll need to respect her." Anya nodded and they walked to the front door which thankfully made little to no noise as they opened it. They stepped outside and walked down the hallway and into the night. 

It was an unusually clear night that day, without a single cloud in sight. Despite this, it was extremely chilly and Anya shivered. They walked together in comfortable silence, appreciating the perfect view of the full moon and passing Yor's workplace before crossing a short alleyway and into a shabby little house.

The house looked very old and unattended to from the outside with the overgrown plants, tall grass, and layers of dust on the bin and windows, paint crusty and old. An innocent passerby would generally assume nobody had lived in it for years, and the same could be said for the next few houses. 

However, inside was another world, Anya soon came to realize. It was sparkling clean and shiny, with black and white tiled floors and walls covered in paintings and posters of all sorts of things. Everything was organized impeccably in shelves and cupboards and shelves that had been labeled to suit what was inside. Many of these had clothes, weapons, and tools to make and look after them. 

The inside also seemed larger than what was shown outside. The hallway was large and domed, the doors were huge and tended properly and the tiled floor was so clean Anya could see her reflection in it. The large oak doors were open at the end of the hallway, showing an insight into the huge decorated oak stairs.

Yor began walking down the hallway, her heels click-clacking and echoing around the room, and Anya followed suite, feeling a little nervous as the full weight of what she was doing finally doomed on her. 

She was going to become an assassin and ruthlessly kill people like her mother.

No more playing games. She was going to become a killer. She was going to assassinate and learn all the methods how. This was no joke, as Yor had stated at the cafe, which seemed centuries ago now.

But now it's too late to turn back. I know too much. Anya thought as she tried to gather what was left of her courage. She would just have to tough it out. Distraction thankfully came along, in the shape of a young woman with dark hair in a bun with a pen in it and a clipboard with some paperwork clipped onto it. She was also in a smart uniform of a white blouse and black tie and a short black pleated skirt, stockings and heels to match.

She beckoned them silently into the room and they obliged, following her. Anya stepped into the biggest and fanciest room she had ever been in, and would have admired it's sheer largeness if it wasn't for her legs shaking from nervousness. The tiled checker of black and white  continued to the top of the domed ceiling, which had a humongous light hanging down from it, impeccably designed and carefully for made out of sparkling glass and shimmering jewels. 

The room was circular, despite the rectangular shape of the building, and among all of the walls were big, dark, oak cupboards which were also labelled with weapons, tools, string and thread, jewelry, sowing-machines, clothes and many rolls of measuring tape and fabric. A filing cabinet and various bookshelves were crowded around the oak stairs, which were also labelled in alphabetical order. 

A large desk sat at the dead-center of the room and in a large red cushioned chair sat  a beautiful but old lady, wearing charms and jewelry among a dress that probably cost more than Anya's life. Anya supposed she would have been one of the characters in Becky's love stories when she was younger. She slowly looked up to face them. Her face was lined and wrinkled, her styled hair white, but somehow she looked pretty and Anya stared, making eye-contact, not knowing what to do. 

"Come here, girl." The woman spoke beckoning to her. Anya obeyed without thinking. Once she reached her, the woman cupped her cheek in one hand, her eyes suddenly looking sorrowful and... angry? A shiver ran down her spine and Anya wanted nothing more than to run to her mother and go back home, but she didn't move. 

"So you're project 007? You seem too young to be making decisions like these, but i guess you've gone through enough trouble with those scientists working on Project Apple."

Anya's eyes widened at that, her old name wasn't heard ever since that dreaded laboratory. The woman chuckled humorlessly, more like a laugh you'd hear from one of the bad-guys in a film plotting revenge. "My husband and I have quite a wonderful library, you should see it some time. It is so full of old things that i decided to look through it when we first heard about you. We have files of Project Apple and notes that had been taken down for back up info on some old targets. I suspect that the scientist taking your shift was killed by us, in which case you escaped. Who knew we would have such a nice meeting? Now, we really should get to work, we'll have plenty of time to have some tea and crumpets together another time."

Anya first thought it was strange how fast she changed the subject, but figured time was running out and obliged when the other woman started measuring her waist.

10 minutes passed by and the woman had a full list of pretty much every cell that made up Anya's body. She scribbled about for a while and handed the clipboard to the directors wife, who scanned it quickly before getting to work on some clothes. The woman turned to them.

"You can all go back home, we'll have the dress and a full plan ready for Anya tomorrow. But before you leave, we'd like to see which weapon will suite her." She said dully. On that note, the directors wife stood up and led Anya around the room to look at different types of murder weapons. There were many, and they all looked old, beautiful, and dangerous. Anya would take the weapon from the old woman, swing it about a bit and pose in a way she thought it ought to be used. 

And every single one would be rejected.

Anya couldn't pinpoint how the lady knew which weapons were suited for her, but she must have had some method to know. But there must have been some fault, because after they had finally combed through the entire stock of weapons, none had been chosen. 

"Hmm..... that truly is odd... Perhaps... they haven't been used for years... wait here." The directors wife rushed up the stairs and disappeared, and Anya was left all alone. She considered her position, what her future would be. She thought it would be forever stained by blood. 

Soon enough, the old lady came back, holding what looked like... Axes. Except they were really fancy and dusty. The woman handed them over, and sure enough, as soon as Anya held them, it...... clicked.   Like a soulmate. For a weapon. They had some holes at the bottom where Anya put her fingers through and swinged it. It was a surreal experience, something she'd never felt before, and she loved it. The other woman smiled. 

"We've found your weapon." 

Chapter Text

The bell startled Anya out of her snooze. She had been working so hard lately with the mission at school during the day and training in the night. Much to Loid's disappointment, she even had to sacrifice a few days of school. Nevertheless, Anya continued working with a strong determination to put things right. The training and pills she had been given over the last 6 months made her body grow stronger at an alarming rate, even though her looks on the outside remained the same. Her hair also grew longer, and at this point, she started worrying if Loid would notice something wrong and she'd have to go back to the orphanage.

A loud and exaggerated sigh snapped Anya out of her thoughts. She glanced over at Becky, who had sighed and followed her line of sight. She, too, sighed when she saw what Becky was looking at.

"Damian, you're in the way of the door, in case you haven't realized."

"give me some credit, of course, I know where I'm standing, unlike you not knowing where in society you stand," Damian added extra emphasis on 'you' in case Anya was deaf.

"Yeah, and only shitheads as you care about that."

Damian paused like he didn't believe what had come out of Becky's mouth. This was the time that his friends, Emile and Ewen, jumped in.

"Who the hell are you to be taking to Lord Damian like that!!"

"You need to keep your mouth shut and your head down, scum!"

Damian calmly held up a finger and they fell silent. 

"Anyway, I didn't come here to fight, I need to talk to Anya," and when Becky went to take Anya's hand, "-privately."

Becky froze.

Anya froze.

Emile and Ewen froze.

Two girls who were listening in froze.

Silence eventually passed through the entire class as Damian took Anya's hand and dragged her out of the room. There was surprisingly no retaliation from Becky, but a few seconds later she had grasped reality again and ran out after them.

****

Anya was still trying to process what had happened when Damian slammed her against the wall. It was deserted and Anya realized it was the hallway to the dorms in school.

"Why are-"

"What's going on?" Damian sounded so fierce it was more like a command than a question.

"W-What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean." He sounded even more fierce. This unnaturally calmed Anya down. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eye, their expressions matching.

"No. No, I don't."

"Don't try to fool me-"

"I'm not lying. What do you mean?"

Damian looked taken aback like he never knew someone as small as Anya could speak back to him fiercely.

"What do you have to do with my father."

"Your father?" Anya started to panic on the inside, but hell would freeze over before she would show it. How did he know about the mission?

Damian paused, as though he was trying to work out what to say.

"My father," He began slowly, "He's become interested in you. He says that you are his 'target' and that he's gained interest in your dad. He's also saying that he's seen you before, and-"

Damian stopped himself. He was about to say 'worked with you before' but he couldn't say too much. Not now when there were so many unknowns.

"Damian," Anya's eyes had softened -at least a little-, "I've never met your dad."

"Ever?"

"Ever."

Damian searched her face for any sign of lying or distrust or anything to even give the slightest bit of doubt, but there was none. He sighed.

"Fine fine. You can go now if you want." He waved behind him as he walked off. Anya stared at his retreating figure until it was completely out of sight. Then she walked off too, her mind on a lot of things.

What was he about to say before he stopped himself?

Anya didn't see a single thing on the way home. She was buried too deep in her thoughts to notice the whispering students around her or the way they kept away from her like there was some sort of disease on her that they didn't want to catch. The latest gossip was how Damian dragged her away and that Demetrius Desmond was looking for her.  It seemed to them that she had somehow bewitched them into having a crush on her to get them to fight because someone so low down the social and riches hierarchy could never get people like them to truly fall in love with her. 

When she got home, however, Yor was frantically running around the house. Anya watched her panic, too tired and just not bothered to ask what was going on. However, when Yor finally saw her only one sentence made her snap into the old energetic, and excited Anya.

"You've got your first mission."

Anya jumped in excitement, something very rare for her to do nowadays.

****

Mission briefing for agent 1964- Code name The Shadow.

Target: Joachim Arwed

Date of mission: 21/4/1962

Conviction:

Leading on the case of the missing children of Pirmasens. He is the prime suspect and was close to the three children who disappeared. House searched and found the possessions of the victims and faint traces of DNA of said victims. The client has reported but the police are too concentrated on other pressing matters. Investigated and the man ran off, seemingly realizing what was happening. Fleed to a nearby town. The client came into contact with us a few days later. Investigated and found a trapdoor under his bed. The mission is classed as a C-grade as the man is very easily fooled and weak. 

Action:

The agent will enter through the living room window and kill him quickly and quietly, preferably beheaded as ordered by the client. Close all blinds and lock windows and doors. Secure the house. Locate children if possible. CHILDRENS LIVES ARE PRIORITY. Safely leave the house, leaving a marking showing it is The Shadow's work. Leave no other evidence behind or DNA traces. Unlock or leave locked windows and doors so it is the same as entered. Keep damage to a minimum. If the victims are alive, leave to an escape vehicle parked in a nearby supermarket area. 

****

Anya read through the last few notes on the names and descriptions of the three victims (two boys, and one girl) and decided if they were alive they wouldn't be in a good condition. Yor also happened to come up with the same idea because all the rushing about was preparing the absolute essentials for her. As this was her first mission and relied on a quick getaway, any extra weight would be unnecessary so Yor got some ethyl alcohol and bandages in case some wounds were fatal. 

Anya left through her bedroom window, Yor keeping watch for Loid with the excuse of Anya being tired. Even if he didn't believe her, which was unlikely, the door to her room had been locked and a dummy was in place so if any of them poked their head in it would look as if she was in bed.

But now wasn't the time to think about that. Now was the time to think of the mission that faced her.

Anya would fulfill her duty as an assassin.

Chapter Text

The cold enveloped and surrounded Anya, though she took no notice of it. She was focused on the mission, what she would do to the an and if there was a fight. Eventually, her thoughts drifted and settled, and she devised a plan. The briefing said Anya had to go in through the window, but she didn't know where the children were. No, she'd have to bend the rules since there was no confirmation of where the kids were. As she reached the house, she took out one of the axes and cut a small line on her cheek. She then proceeded to cover her face with dirt and a little on her clothes. A little crying finished it off, her excuse being that she was at a party and got lost playing hide and seek. 

After a few more deep breaths to get her stamina ready, she knocked on the door continuously until the man opened the door.

Joachim Arwed, you'll be a dead man by the end of these thirty minutes.

"Who're you? A little girl should know better than to knock on doors."

Anya sniffed and let out a few wails, "I'm lost, I don't know where my mommy and daddy are!" Anya burst into hysteria but didn't miss the little smirk as the criminal brought her inside.

"Hey, it's okay, well find them soon enough." Joachim was good at being comforting.

He could've made a good father if I didn't have to kill him and he wasn't a kidnapper.

Anya carried on crying and the man led her outside with a lousy excuse of, "Fresh air is good if you're stressed." 

A shed.

He's leading me to a shed.

That's probably where the victims are.

"Come on, I have a lot of toys in here, why don't you pick one out?"

Toys being the kids you've kidnapped, huh?

"Okay..."

Time seemed to slow down as the man unlocked the shed door and opened it. Anya readied herself.

"HELP!!"

"GET IN THERE NOW YOU-"

"Die."

SLASH.

THUMP.

THUMP.

Anya stared at the blood, the body and the head. Joachim Arwed was no more. She barely heard the scream of the girl, and horrified gasps of the two boys as they sounded distant, almost like she was underwater. Eventually, she escaped the thoughts that enveloped her and turned to look at the three children. 9,9 and 10. They were old enough to grasp the general, if not vague idea of the situation and so she got down to business, putting her axes away.

"Look, I've been sent here to help you kids from this bastard of a man so can you calm down and show me where your hurt?" At this, Anya took out her supplies from he small but handy purse and set them out. Looking up, she noticed that none of them had moved and she began to become impatient.

"Im not exactly with the police, so unless you want to be here when-and if- they arrive we better skedaddle."  The oldest, a boy, held out his bare arm, which sported an nasty and infected cut all the way down his forearm. Upon closer inspection, Anya realized it was re-cut on multiple occasions, and part of his bone could be seen under all the swelling.

The boy sucked in loudly as she disinfected it, which meant he had a pretty good pain tolerance compared to the girl who outright screamed when Anya dabbed lightly with it. After all of them had been treated on the most serious wounds, Anya led them through the back gate and kept to the shadows to keep away any witnesses. The others thankfully followed suite and as she approached the first ones house she turned around and for the first time since the kill, looked threatening.

"If the police come by, you saw nothing okay? There was a shadowy person dressed in black that swooped down and killed him, identified them self as Shadow and then went off back in the dark. When they ask, you couldn't see my face nor body shape. When they pry, say absolutely nothing I will know if you even let the slightest slip up about me." The boy swallowed and then nodded. Anya changed her face into a friendy one as she knocked on the door and disappeared, leaving a note behind her.

"Shadow,

I come with the call"

*******

"Anya, you'll be late for school if you don't hurry up!"

"Coming!"

Anya pulled on her uniform and glanced at the note on her mirror, left ironically on the back of the note that she left behind.

" Our support will always be with you,

Stark"

She smiled at it as Loid's call came once again, announcing she had five minutes before the bus would arrive. Her first mission was a success and she couldn't wait for the next

Super exciting!